Hi there Lyndall pinchen, Canine naturopath from Canine Vitality and happy new year to you all!!!
Now I’m sure at some stage most of you as dog owners have found some type of a lump on your dog. While this can cause panic, and of course its always wise to have any lump checked by your vet, the good news is that the majority of lumps are benign fatty tumours or lipomas. So in todays short video lets find out about my top 5 herbs to help both prevent and reduce these fatty lumps so stay tuned to learn more.
So firstly lets find out what a lipoma is and what can cause them to develop. Lipomas are a non cancerous tumour that is composed of fat cells underneath the skin. They tend to develop in the chest, neck and flank of your dog and are more common in older dogs and even more common if your dog is overweight. While certain breeds are more prone to them, really any dog can develop them. The main difference with a lipoma and a malignant lump is that the lipomas move easily under the skin and tend to feel soft.
So why do these develop?? While genetics does play a role here, Dogs who are eating a processed diet high in carbohydrates and sugars (for example, sugar found in dog treats etc) along with the wrong type of fats or who are deficient in essential fatty acids like omega 3 fats as well as those that are overweight as I mentioned earlier can over time develop a lipoma. Excess carbohydrates tend to increase inflammation in the body and this can indirectly lead to those lump developing.
Interestingly too, for dogs that have some type of endocrine or hormone imbalance such as hypothyroidism and Cushings diseases, you might find that they are also developing fatty lumps so that’s something to note too. So while feeding a natural grain free and dairy free diet that is rich in healthy fats is essential as part of treating lipomas, lets look at my top 5 herbs to help reduce these.
1.Milk thistle (St Mary’s thistle) there’s no surprise that this is one of my favourites for lipomas because it supports the liver and gall bladder which plays a key role in helping break down fats. Did you know that often these lipomas can be found on the body in line with the internal gall bladder meridian that is recognized in Chinese medicine so one more reason that we use herbs to support the gall bladder in particular. Milk thistle contains a mixture of active compounds, including silymarin, which is the main bioactive ingredient. Silymarin is a flavonoid that has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, helping to protect the liver by supporting its ability to detoxify harmful substances .Some studies have shown that oxidative stress from too many free radicals that are not being properly dealt with by the liver can play a role in the development of lipomas. So in this way Milk thistle can reduce them by improving the function and health of your dogs liver. I work on a dose of 1-2 drops per kg bodyweight 1-2 times daily. With this and all the herbs I am talking about today you need to give them for at least 8 weeks to see the results.
2. Dandelion root- in a similar way to Milk thistle, Dandelion root can also be a potent lipoma fighter due to its action on the liver and gall bladder and combines beautifully with Milk thistle. As a bitter herb Dandelion helps to stimulate digestion and therefore this can help clear out inflammation and stagnant digestive juices. It stimulates your dogs gall bladder to help properly digest fats and will help generally move toxins out of the body via the liver and kidneys and in these ways it can really pack a punch when it comes to reducing fatty lipomas. I use 1 drop per kg bodyweight 2x daily in most cases for dogs.
3.Bladderwrack - this is actually a seaweed that is rich in iodine and other minerals that support your dogs thyroid and hormonal system. Bladderwrack can help support the overall metabolism in your dog as well as supporting that thyroid making it helpful in improving fat metabolism and shifting excess weight. In this way it can help reduce those lumps when given overtime. (avoid this is your dog is on thyroid medication or has hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid). I like to use this in combination with other herbs in a tincture form rather than on its own and I always start with a low dose of maybe 1 drop per kg bodyweight daily and increase overtime if needed.
4. Burdock root. This herb helps to support your dogs lymphatic system (think of this like a garbage removal system) along with the liver and kidneys and when combined with Milk thistle makes another great combination. When used together these two herbs help remove heat and inflammation out of the liver while improving bile flow to help break down fats and generally clears the blood of toxins. This then makes it an excellent herb to use to reduce lipomas. As a strong herb I generally start low and slow with this one using 1 drop per kg bodyweight daily and slowly increasing as needed.
And finally today, although of course there are other herbs we could talk about, 5. Maritime pine bark. This powerful antioxidant herb can help reduce fatty lumps due to its ability to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation which we have talked about earlier in the video as one thing that can contribute to the development of a lipoma. Pine bark is rich in polyphenols which are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and also antimicrobial. By combining this antioxidant rich herb with the other herbs we have talked about today these can all significantly help reduce the size and number of lipomas your dog might have. And make sure too that you also address the diet as well as this is super important to not only reduce lipomas but of course it will improve your dogs overall health. Use a dose of 1-2 drops per kg bodyweight 2x daily in food.
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